“I gave birth at 17 years old to my beautiful daughter Regina, and at the time, my parents didn’t think I could raise a baby so they made plans for her to be adopted. When I left the hospital we took our baby with us instead. We had formula, diapers, and baby clothes, but no place to go or call a home. My parents had DCF come and take my daughter away from me and placed her in order care. We were able to hire an attorney who was amazing and took our case Pro Bono. The judge said that he had never seen two young people fight so hard to keep their baby, as a result, the judge ruled that my daughter be returned to us. My father was 90.5 years old when he passed. Minutes before he passed I kissed him on his forehead and said “I forgive you Dad” and at that moment I was set free from my personal pain through forgiveness. My experience inspired me to start the Anita Ava House Inc. so that I could help women and families who are facing similar situations (maybe even worse) to have hope by getting the help they need at that moment.” ~ Rev. Gail Williams